Production of water color pictures



March 4,1958 A. M. STEINER 2,825,150

PRODUCTION OF WATER COLOR PICTURES Filed April 30, 1954 GOLOR- OOLOR- OOLOR- 00LOR-4 -5 NUMBER NUMBER NUMBER NUMBER NUMBER RED 6 EEN J9. 2 I BY 'IONVENTOI:

ATTORNEYS.

United States Patent PRODUCTION OF WATER COLOR PICTURES Albert M. Steiner, Cincinnati, Ohio Application April 30, 1954, Serial No. 426,749

2 Claims. (Cl. 35-26) This invention relates to an improvement in the production of water color pictures and is particularly concerned with a combination of structural elements utilized 21c: produce such pictures and the method of producing It has been conventional in the past to provide paint books for children containing picture specimens in which the various areas to be colored are indicated in outline. In some instances, duplicate color reproductions have been supplied so that the child can fill in the areas of a black and white outline with colors corresponding generally to those in the color reproduction. The last has been a generally unsatisfactory expedient, because in the first place the color reproductions add substantially to the cost of the book or package, and in the second place it is difficult or impossible for a small child acting without direction to combine two or more colors to provide the particular shades required in all but the very simplest pictures.

The present improvement is concerned with a means and method for enabling children and interested adults to reproduce exactly in water colors a specimen colored picture in which the areas are indicated in outline only. There is no necessity for providing a colored duplicate to serve as a guide and the technique is so simple that even a small child can obtain excellent results. In fact, the results are so good that the method is entertaining and instructive, even to adults.

In the drawings appended hereto there is disclosed in Figure 1 as A a representation of a typical picture which it is desired to reproduce in water color. As illustrated, this is what might be termed the master specimen. The copy specimen to which the water colors will be applied is not illustrated but is identical in all respects except that the individual numbers and number combinations shown in A are omitted.

In Figure 2 there is illustrated as B a series of brushes designed to dispense liquid water color paint in five of the principal colors. The construction of these dispensing brushes is disclosed and claimed in a co-pending application, Serial No. 379,987, filed September 14, 1953 but forms no part of the present invention. As indicated, the numbers 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 are keyed to an individual brush adapted to dispense a particular color of paint and these same numbers are utilized in the master specimen A to designate the colors to be applied to the particular areas in the picture.

In the practice of the method where a single color is to be applied, for example on the cows illustrated in the lower left hand corner of the master specimen, the child first observes the cows and notes that the number 4 appears 2 on its side. This indicates, of course, that the cow outline is to be painted with the number 4 brush. The child then takes the picture to be painted on which no numbers or number combinations appear and applies the number 4 brush to the cow outline.

A particular problem arises in connection with the provision of off shades, or in other words shades which are not primary colors. These shades are indicated on the master specimen with combination numbers such as 1+4, 1+3, etc. As an illustration, to obtain the shade corresponding to the upper half of the barn roof which is designated as 1+5, the child first applies to the corresponding portion on the duplicate copy specimen the color contained in the number 1 brush which in this case is red. The color is then permitted to dry and the orange color in the number 4 brush is superimposed over it. The result is a shade of brown. In the same way 1+3 on the lower half of the barn roof provides a shade of purple.

The drying of the first color and the superimposing of the second color over it form a particular feature of the invention, in that this technique acts as a gauge for the quantity of paint to be used to obtain the exact shade desired. If the child were to mix the two paints together in advance of applying them there would be no way in which he could be certain that he had mixed equal quantities, and the resultant shade would in almost every instance be different. Additionally the technique is neater because the colors are mixed right on the picture instead of on another piece of paper or a board or palette.

The invention has been illustrated in its simplest aspect only and it will be apparent that combinations of three or more colors may be utilized to provide a much greater range of shades. This range can be further increased by supplying additional brushes containing still further colors and utilizing these colors in the combination.

The value of the invention, for children particularly, resides in its extreme simplicity. Any child who can count will readily understand the technique to be employed in obtaining the desired tints from the color combinations. A further advantage is that even though water colors are relatively transparent there are no unsightly indicia of any kind on the completed copy specimen as there would be if, for example, the child simply colored the master specimen in the manner indicated.

The use of the technique enables the supplier of paint sets to reduce its cost materially, because there is no necessity for furnishing colored pictures for copying and the master specimens furnished corresponding to A may be greatly reduced in size. At the same time the results are much better as under the guidance of the key numbers the child can, without difficulty, reproduce the exact shades and tints desired.

While the invention has been disclosed with particular reference to liquid dispensing brushes it is applicable also to practically any type of water coloring medium including the conventional solid paints and hair brushes.

Having fully described my invention, 1 claim:

1. Apparatus for producing water color pictures comprising, in combination. a master specimen having outline areas delineated thereon, indicia in certain of said areas indicating the application of primary colors thereto and in others of said areas indicating the separate application of principal colors in sequence, a copy specimen Patented Mar. 4, 1958- 3 identical with the master specimen but with the indicia omitted, a plurality of water color applying instruments for applying primary colors and indicia associated with the instruments keyed to the indicia on the master specimen.

2. A method of producing water color pictures which comprises utilizing a series of instruments each of which is adapted to apply a single principal shade only to apply to a copy specimen having outline areas thereon identical with the outline areas on a master specimen, sequential color shades specified by indicia' positioned in the outline areas on the master specimen, said indicia being keyed to corresponding indicia associated with the instruments with which the colors are applied, the shade first applied being permitted to dry in each case before a second shade is superimposed on it.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,698,739 Shulman Jan. 15, 1929 1,957,816 Braeg May 8, 1934 2,712,189 Grossman July 5, 1955 2,744,349 Grossman May 8, 1956 

